Red Amongst the Blue
by twilightstargazer
Summary: The Red Headed Horror is the most notoriously dangerous pirate to ever sail the seas. The court wants her hung while the other pirates want her gold. Each party wants nothing more than to catch her and James Potter has just stumbled on to her ship. Only trouble can occur from then. L/J. AU.
1. Twist of Fate

**_I must be mad for taking on a another multi chaptered fic, especially considering that I haven't even finished my other one. Hopefully since this is a sort of collab with my friend, Tish, it won't take months for an update. Hopefully. _**

**_This is a long A/N, but bear with me. So, in case you haven't realised, this is completely AU. No magic whatsoever and everyone (or nearly everyone) is a pirate. This has been in the making for a while now, ever since I posed a simple question during the midst of of the Jily Pirate Fest over on tumblr. Speaking of pirates, since my only form of 'research' was watching Pirates of the Caribbean, I'm pretty sure that when it comes to the intricacies of sailing and piracy, I may make quite a few missteps in that area. Cookies if you correct me._**

**_Disclaimer: Anything that you recognise belongs to the great JK Rowling._**

* * *

**Twist of Fate**

* * *

The street was abuzz with the flutter of activity. Children shrieked and giggled with happiness as they ran in and out of the densely packed crowd with their parents fruitlessly calling out to them to stay put. Buyers bartered over produce with the many vendors that lined the sides of the street, while others tried to weave through the throngs of patrons, whether it was to get to their homes or the nearest pub. The hustle and bustle was a way of life here at this well known port.

An angry shout was barely heard over the melee as five burly (and evidently furious) men thundered out one of the nearest pubs and into the busy lane, pushing everyone aside. A little way down, there were three other men running through the hubbub. Unlike the previous five, these were tall and lanky (and evidently running from the evidently furious men).

They pushed past everyone, throwing a muffled 'sorry!' over their shoulders every now and then, but continued to run.

"Why must you pick a fight with everything that moves, James?" called out a sandy haired man, who had just narrowly missed running into a tray of oranges. The merchant who stood behind him let loose a string of curses, but the other man paid him no heed.

"It's not my fault," the man, presumably James, replied, dodging a group of children. "They just misinterpreted me!"

"Can we talk later!" snapped their third companion. "We can decide what the wanker did to piss off a set of very large and very dangerous looking men when we're sure we're going to live!"

The other two men promptly shut up. Another angry yell was heard behind them and this time it sounded much closer and much more enraged than the last. The three men sped up.

"They are going to kill us," groused the sandy haired one, who was lagging behind slightly.

"Shut up Remus," the other two advised. They had been running for quite some time, hoping to reach the less shady part of town. The men had ventured out into the lesser known parts with the hopes of escaping the recognition that had plagued them in the heart of town. It had worked, but it also succeeded on getting them engaged in at least one other brawl before becoming subjected to running through the streets for their lives.

Soon however, the air was tinged with the smell of fish and the slight tang of salt. At this point, they had slowed their run to a jog and the men who went by the name of James and Remus glared at their companion.

"'Knew the way,' he said," mocked James, rolling his eyes. "'Can get us there safely,' he said."

"Sirius, this is most certainly not anywhere close to the inn that we were staying inn," Remus said tersely. "This isn't even in the vicinity!"

"I've noticed that!" retorted Sirius, frustrated, as he looked around the port.

"Then what the bloody hell are we to do?!" exclaimed James, running an irritated hand through his already messy hair. "We're here, on this... well, it looks like a less than honest port and the men who're trying to kill us are probably going to be here in the next minute or so. Brilliant. It's been nice knowing you, mates. Except for you, Sirius, because it's your fault that we're going to die. I'll haunt you in the afterlife."

"You're the one who started the fight," countered Sirius.

"Yes but you're the one who led us in the wrong direction."

"If either you or Remus had led we would have found ourselves falling off a cliff."

"Well then we'd have died either way!"

"Enough!" yelled Remus. "Arguing like five year olds is not going to help our situation. Now follow me. I have a plan."

The man led his two dark haired friends behind a set of large, wooden crates. Not a moment too soon, for as soon as Sirius' coat swished out of sight, the five men burst on to the scene in all their drunken glory. They cursed and yelled even more when they did not find the men and started looking for them.

"Now what?" whispered James. "It's only a matter of time before they find us."

Remus was silent for a moment, obviously thinking hard. After a few seconds, in which the cursing got louder, his eyes brightened and he glanced over his shoulder at the large ship behind him. He could not make out the name, but at that moment he did not care, as all that mattered was the fact that there was a board which allowed easy access on and off the ship.

"Now," Remus said as crawled on his hands and knees towards the board. It was just hidden by the crates, but not by much. "We board a ship."

"We _what_?" Sirius said, stunned. "You don't mean _that_ ship, right?"

"Yes, I mean this ship." Remus raised an eyebrow. "Unless, of course, you rather be caught by our friends over there..."

Sirius immediately dropped onto his hands and knees. "Alright; I'm coming," he muttered as James followed suit. After a minute or so they had managed to climb on board the ship. The deck was startlingly empty and completely silent. The men stealthily slunk down the stairs.

"We should be safe here," Remus said quietly, as they finally came to a halt at the bottom.

"As long as this ship's crew decides not to kill us for trespassing," snorted Sirius, refraining from rolling his eyes.

Remus ignored him. "Let's just wait a few minutes for them to lose interest and then we can go back to the inn."

The other two nodded and soon it was still once more. However, that newfound silence was quickly broken as the sounds of voices drifted down the stairwell. The men's eyes widened and frantically started to search for a place to hide. A moment or two had passed before Sirius finally spotted a door hidden away in the corner. He jiggled the door knob, finding it to be open before catching the attention of his two mates and nodding towards it. He opened the door and they easily slipped in to the dark room, closing the door with a soft thud behind them.

James blinked a few times, trying to get accustomed to the darkness. Soon, he was able to distinguish the shadowy figures of his companions. Beyond them, he could also see the silhouettes of what seemed to be trunks upon trunks. One of the trunks was opened and James lightly brushed his hand over it, surprised to find whatever was inside of it was loose. He picked up a piece and was thoroughly surprised at what he found.

"Gold," he murmured mainly to himself.

"What was that?" asked Remus, squinting in the darkness at the direction in which he presumed his friend to be.

"These trunks are filled with gold," he repeated, running his hand over the rough face of the coin.

"Well that's good isn't it?" said Sirius. "If there're piles of gold on here then this must be one of your uncle's ships"

"Probably," mumbled James, still playing with the coin. Remus said nothing.

They were quiet for a while, save for the rhythmic clink of the coins.

"Can you hear anything now, Sirius?" said Remus, breaking the silence. Sirius pressed his ear more firmly against the wooden door. He listened for a moment before shaking his head.

"Whoever it was, they're gone now," he said, rolling his shoulders. "About time. Let's get out of here." He searched around for the doorknob. Frowning, he continued patting the door for the round ball that was supposed to be there until he gave up in defeat, realizing that there was not any.

"We have a bit of a problem," he ventured. "I can't find the doorknob."

"What do you mean you can't find the doorknob?" said James, having finally stopped playing with the coin and just held it in his hand.

"I mean that it's not there."

James blinked. "Not there? So we're locked in?" he demanded.

"At least it's one of your uncle's ships," Sirius said pitifully.

"I don't think so," Remus put in hesitatingly. "There wasn't a flag."

"A flag could be used to attract attention," said Sirius hopelessly.

Remus shook his head. "I think," he paused to take a deep breath. When he continued, his voice wavered slightly at the end. "I think that we got ourselves stuck on a pirate ship."

The only sound heard was that of the coin falling out of James' hand and clattering to the floor.

* * *

Sunlight streamed through the open window, illuminating the messy cabin. Heavy red drapes were impatiently pushed away from the gap, looking as though they hadn't moved from their position in years. The rest of the room possessed the same type of haphazardness. Shelves lined each wall, holding stacks upon stacks of books, papers and other various knick knacks. A large cabinet dominated the back wall, casing clothing, liquor and weaponry among other things. A small bed was opposite it, with its pillows falling off and sheets rumpled and creased. Clothes and maps were draped over every available surface, including the floor. Meanwhile, in the centre of the room, a large, sturdy wooden desk sat, covered with maps, broken quills, and empty inkwells in a seemingly endless mountain. Behind the desk was a small woman with a mass of copper coloured curls and a pair of vibrant green eyes which were currently trained on one of the many maps in front of her. She was dressed in tight fitting black pants and a loosed white shirt with black boots. She wore no jewellery aside from a thin strip of leather knotted around her wrist and a fine golden chain that lay hidden under the shirt.

There was a knock at the door, causing her to look up. The door opened slightly and a man with dark hair poked his head in and said, "We've set sail, Captain Evans. Any particular destination we should set course for?"

The Captain glanced down at her map once more before replying. "Head south west, as far from the coast as possible but within the channel. And out of French waters," she tacked on to the end, thoughtfully.

The dark haired man nodded his head and closed the door. The Captain stood up and stretched before removing the leather band from her hand and using it to tie up her hair. She had a revolver tucked away safely in her weapons belt and a knife hidden in her boot. Her sword lay neglected atop her desk, doubling as a paper weight since she had no use for it at the moment. The Captain walked out of the cabin and on deck to check on the rest of her crew and her ship. The Phoenix was the Captain's pride and joy and it was also one of the fastest ships on the seven seas. The wind was lightly blowing, and she could see the inlet where they had just ported getting smaller and smaller until it eventually disappeared over the horizon. The sun brilliantly glinted off the greenish blue of the ocean while the waves gently rocked the ship. The Captain made her rounds on deck, talking easily with the crew members while tying and untying the riggings, making sure the ship was in top shape before retreating to her cabin once more.

It was not until more than an hour later that there was another knock on her door. This time, it was a tall man with red hair that stepped into the room, shutting the door behind him. He looked solemn while confusion glittered in his eyes that made the Captain shoot to her feet, immediately ignoring the maps.

"Fabian, what...?" she trailed off, searching his face for a hint of what was going on. She grasped the hilt of her sword unconsciously.

"We have a bit of a problem, Lily," the red headed man, Fabian, told her.

"What is it?" she asked, swinging on her sword and moving towards the door, only to be blocked by Fabian. She took a deep breath. "I swear to God, Prewett if there's something with my ship and you're here keeping me back, I'll run you through with this sword."

"No, nothing's wrong with the ship," he reassured her. He paused, deliberating how much he should tell her. "It's... well, you should see." And he moved past her, opening the door.

Most of the crew had gathered a bit further away, mumbling uneasily amongst themselves until they saw Lily and Fabian coming through. They quieted and parted to let the Captain and first mate through. The scene that greeted her was something that she certainly had not expected, and it brought her to a complete stop, unable to say anything.

In front of her stood three men, each with their hands tied behind their backs. Two of them were dark haired while the other had sandy brown hair. The sandy haired was easily the tallest one and Lily was sure that he towered over her by nearly a foot, at the most. His eyes were a muted greenish blue colour, and his skin was paler than the others with a layer of wiry muscle beneath it. Lily could not put a finger on it, but there was a sickly look about him as his eyes nervously flickered over the pirates surrounding him. He did a good job hiding his anxiousness, she mused, watching him carefully.

The man standing next to him was shorter than him, but only just, and had a bit more muscle than the previous one and did not possess the sickly looking pallor. His dark hair flirted with the collar of his shirt as he looked over the crowd disinterestedly, almost lazily, as though being found on a pirate ship was a mere inconvenience for him. However, if Lily looked close enough, she could see that underneath all of that bravado, his muscles were pulled taut and his grey eyes were hardened.

The last man stood directly in front of the Captain, with his head raised and jaw clenched. He was about the same height as his dark haired counterpart, but instead of having neat, groomed hair, his was a chaotic mess, sticking up in each and every direction. He was lean and was staring at nothing in particular with a cold expression, as a number of emotions swirled around in his eyes.

Captain Evans surveyed the three men in front of her before turning to the crew. The look she gave them was so icy that they each took at least one step back. There was a reason she was one of the most feared pirates to ever sail the seas and her crew knew it. They also knew that if they challenged her authority when she was in a mood like that, it would guarantee being thrown overboard at the very least. No one dared to breathe.

"What are they," she sneered at the men behind her, "Doing here?"

"We- we found them ma'am," said Jack, one of the crew members.

"They were hiding down in the hold," added on Eddie. "We heard them talking."

The Captain surveyed the crew for a moment before turning back around. The three men were still in the same position as before: standing stock-still with their hands tied. However, instead of inspecting her crew as they did before, they were now regarding someone to her left- Fabian she realised belatedly- with unadulterated fear, as though he would strike them down if they so much as blinked.

"What are you doing on my ship?" asked Lily, her hand resting on the hilt of her sword. As soon as the words left her mouth, three surprised gazes snapped to her figure.

"Your- _your_ ship?" the sandy haired boy stated confusedly, openly staring at her. "This is your pirate ship?"

Lily scrutinised him before nodding tersely. Someone scoffed to her right. She looked over and saw the man with the messy hair regarding her condescendingly.

"This can't be your ship. You're a woman," he snorted. "Women can't be captains. Especially the captain of a pirate ship." Even before the last word was uttered there were at least ten swords pointed at his jugular, held by at least ten angry pirates who wanted nothing more than to skewer the man who insulted their captain.

Lily smiled at him. A cold, feral smile that scared him much more than swords that were ready to swipe off his neck. She motioned to her crew to drop their weapons, which they did, albeit grudgingly. The Captain walked up to him, slowly and deliberately like a wolf circling its prey, with her hips swaying ever so slightly, only coming to a stop once she was a few inches away.

"Why don't you say that again," she murmured, trailing a hand down the side of his face. "And then we'll see what I'll do."

She waited until he nodded jerkily before taking a step back.

"Now," said Lily loudly enough for everyone on deck to hear. "What I want to know is how you got on my ship undetected, why you did and who you are."

The three of them nodded and delved in to their tale of being chased by a horde of angry- and drunk- pirates from the middle of town all the way to the pier. They needed someplace to hide and they saw her ship and scurried on without hesitation before inadvertently locking themselves in and becoming prisoners.

Lily mulled over their story, taking in every little detail of it before nodding once. "And your names?" she asked when they finished. They hesitated and she saw them glance at each other furtively as though they were having a silent conversation. "Come now," she said airily. "Don't give me incentive to run you through with a sword for lying to me. I just had the deck swabbed."

They glanced at each other again, but this time it was different.

Finally, the one in the middle- the one who hadn't said anything as yet- stepped forward. "Sirius Black," he said lightly, maintaining his care me not attitude from before. He flashed a grin at her. "And might I add that you are absolutely stunning, Captain..."

"Evans," allowed Lily, "And might I add, Mr Black, that the only place that flattery gets you on this ship is in the water."

"I'm known for being the exception to many things," replied Sirius, still grinning at her.

Lily hummed noncommittally and ignored him, instead focusing her attention on the brown haired man who stepped forward.

"Remus Lupin," he said quietly, though not without confidence.

"Pleasure, Mr Lupin," said Lily. She turned to the last one who still stood straight and staring off into nothingness. He did not look as though he was about to answer her question anytime soon. "And you are?" she inquired.

No answer.

"You'll tell me your name eventually," the Captain said confidently, pushing back the red strands of hair that had fallen in to her face. Meanwhile, Remus and Sirius looked as though they wanted to slap their friend for being so obstinate. "Besides, if you don't want to tell us the easy way then I'm sure we can get it out of you another way. My schedule for the next week is clear."

The man's Adam's apple bobbed nervously. Finally he said, "John Smith."

Lily smiled at him. "Was that so hard, John?"

"No," he smirked.

"Good," she said sweetly. "Now how about you try it again with your real name."

'John's' smirk fell. "What-"

"I know when I'm being lied to, John," Lily hissed dangerously. She had pulled out her knife from her boot and held it loosely in her hand. "Your name. Now."

"But my name is-"

A loud bang caused the three of them to jump and turn around. Impaled in the wood behind 'John' was the same knife that the Captain had in her hand just a few seconds ago. He swallowed audibly and turned back to face her, his eyes opened wide. The knife missed him by barely an inch

"Lie to me again and the next target could be your head," she said easily, shrugging.

Taking a deep breath, the man looked at Lily straight in the eye and said, "My name is James Potter."

Lily frowned. That name sounded vaguely familiar, but she could not place his face. However, someone from behind her inhaled quite suddenly. She turned around and saw Turner staring at Potter.

"You're the duke's son," he accused. The Captain's eyes widened and she glanced over her shoulder at James, who had now began to grin in earnest.

"Yes, I am."

Lily's face blanched and the entire crew grew silent as they took in this newfound information. Finally, she broke the silence by rasping, "Get them off my ship."

"What?" the three of them cried out in unison.

Captain ignored them. "I want them off of my ship. Throw them over board, kill them, hell, you can turn the boat around for all I care. I just want them off my ship."

"Lily," Fabian said from beside her. "Do you really think that that's a good idea?"

"I don't need the English trying to kill me!"

"They're already trying to kill you," he pointed out.

"That's different. This time I'll have the entire armada after my arse."

"Still the same thing."

She let out a strangled scream. "Gideon!" she called out to the man at the wheel. He was the split image of Fabian, save for the fact that he was a bit stockier than the other man. "Come here for a minute!" He looked up and jogged over, after getting someone to watch the wheel for him. "Tell your brother that he's being insane."

"I don't know, Lily," Gideon said warily. "He does have a point. We shouldn't kill them."

Lily looked ready to strangle both of the brothers. "Turner," she called out, not taking her eye off of the two in front her. "Take them to the brig; where our other guest is housed. Will and Bones, go with him," she ordered. The three men whose names she called out nodded and each grabbed one of the men who were still tied up. She finally took her eyes off the other gingers to watch the group depart before saying, "You two; my office. Now."

The brothers nodded and left. The rest of the crew slowly dispersed, muttering amongst themselves. Lily, still furious, stalked towards the wooden wall that her knife landed and pulled out the weapon, sticking it back in her boot before heading to her cabin.

She slammed the door shut.

"What the hell was that?" she all but yelled at two men sitting in front of her.

"That was us being rational," Gideon said calmly.

"I don't need the entire English fleet coming after me because they think I've kidnapped that tosser and his friends," Lily pressed. "Who, might I add, may not be royalty, but whose names most likely carry some sort of weight. This is practically slapping a death sentence on our heads. I do not need _another_ death sentence on my head."

The twins shared a look. "No one knows that they're on your ship," reasoned Gideon.

"But they will soon," countered Lily. "I'll give them a month at most before they decide to start hunting down pirates. And you know who's at the top of the King's 'Need to Kill' list? Me!"

"Not you; just the person they think happens to be you," said Fabian, rummaging around her drawers before pulling out a bottle of rum. "They still think that you're a man."

"Which would immediately change if you put them off the ship. As soon as they get back to the palace or whatever, they'll tell someone that the most notorious pirate on the seven seas is in fact a woman." Gideon said before Lily could contradict them again.

"Second most notorious," Lily corrected them, mainly out of habit.

"Whatever," Fabian said, taking a hefty swig from the bottle. "If anything, that's good. He'll go after him first."

"Then I'll have two sets of people trying to kill me _at the same time_," Lily said, yelling at the end. "That's worst."

"Well fine, if you want to look at it that way," groused Fabian, taking another drink. It was quiet for a few moments.

"So what's wrong with killing them then?" Lily asked, crossing her hands across her chest.

"You don't kill without reason, Lils," said Gideon gently.

"I can make an exception," grumbled Lily as she slumped forward, recognising her defeat. She scrubbed a hand across her face tiredly. "So what do we do with them?"

The twins looked at one another, having one of their wordless exchanges. Despite knowing them for most of her life, Lily was never able to understand those conversations. They always left her out in the dark.

"What?" asked Lily as she raised an eyebrow.

The brothers shared another secretive look. "We keep them on the ship," said Fabian firmly.

Lily was taken aback. "Keep them on my ship? Are you out of your bleeding mind?"

"Well we follow you, don't we?" he said cheekily. "Any mind we had is long gone."

"What he means is," Gideon interjected exasperatedly so as to stop the impending argument. "If we keep them aboard the ship, then no one will know your secret. Plus you can keep an eye on them."

"And our necks will be hung before sodding Christmas. Brilliant." Lily rolled her eyes.

"We've been out running- er, out _sailing_- them for the last five years. They won't catch us," reassured Gideon.

Lily bit her lip, mulling over her choices. She obviously could not send them ashore; not without causing a thousand ships to come after her head. Plus, she had vowed all those years ago to never kill innocent. And while she was sure those men below deck weren't the epitome of innocence, they had not attacked her. She couldn't kill them either. That left her with the sole choice of keeping them aboard her ship, something she was none too eager to do. Especially after the man's- what was his name? James?- comment about women not being pirates or able to run a ship. Lily promised herself that she'd make him eat his words by the end of the week at least.

"Fine," she said at last. "They'll stay on my ship. But if they put one toe out of line I won't hesitate to throw them overboard."

The two men nodded and Lily rose from her seat to go give them the news.

James tried to focus on his surroundings as he was led below deck, but with all the twists and turns and the added effect of the ship's rocking, that proved to be a difficult task. The three pirates had a hand clasped tightly around their bonds as they led the men further and further into the ship. When they finally came to a halt in front of a giant wooden door, James knew at once that he and his mates were about to become prisoners.

The door was unlocked with a loud click and they were pushed in to a room. It was small and dank with a single candle serving as the only light source within the room. The flame threw flickering images onto the wooden walls and James could hear the sound of water lapping at the sides. This caused him to realise that they were perhaps locked in the hull of the ship.

"Enjoy your stay," laughed one of the crew as the door slammed shut. James blinked a few times to get accustom to the darkness of the room. There was the sound of something shuffling about, causing the men to jump.

"What was that?" asked Sirius, scanning the dimly lit room.

"A rat?" suggested Remus as the three of them shuffled closer together.

There was some more shuffling around and then the sound of someone lighting a match. A flame sparked to life and illuminated the grimy face of a man, causing James, Sirius and Remus to jump back in surprise. His pale face was smudged with dirt and his watery blue eyes were bloodshot and sunken in to his skull. There was a tear in his shirt and his hair looked as though it hadn't been cared for in weeks.

"Hello," he said, flashing them a grin which exposed his yellowing teeth.

"Hi..." said James, taking an imperceptible step back.

"Peter Pettigrew," the man said, extending an equally dirty hand towards them. His nails were bitten down to the cuticle while dirt occupied each crack and crevice.

"James Potter," he replied, trying to keep his voice calm. Remus and Sirius also introduced themselves. Neither shook his hand due to the fact that their hands were still bound. Peter seemed to notice that and pushed them towards a rusty nail in the wall.

"It might take a while, but it'll cut off your ropes," he assured them as he struggled to light another candle. "So what got you thrown in here?"

"Accidentally boarded the ship," Sirius said succinctly as he tried to cut through his bonds. "Captain sent us down here while she deliberated our fate."

"Good luck," snorted Peter as a dark look rolled across his face. "She killed everyone on my ship. Her and her crew swept in and murdered everyone, taking all the treasure and supplies and left the ship burning in the sea. I was lucky to escape with my life. Of course, that doesn't matter, as she found me and threw me down here."

At this point the men's faces were drained of blood and their eyes looked as though they would pop out of their heads.

"But... but she's not going to do that to us, right?" asked Sirius. He had stopped trying to undo the ropes in the middle of Peter's story.

The man regarded him with pity. "There's a reason she's called the Read Headed Horror," he shrugged.

Sirius and James stood confused, but Remus' face, if possibly had gotten even paler and had undertaken a sickly green colour.

"What am I missing?" James asked, looking at his friend.

"The Red Headed Horror," Remus choked out, "Is one of the worst pirates out there in recorded history. Anyone who has the misfortune to cross her always," he swallowed audibly, "Ends up dead."

The three men stared at each other in horror as Peter looked at them sadly and mumbled the phrase 'dead man walking,' under his breath. Aside from their uneven breathing, the room was silent. Remus felt as though he was going to throw up, Sirius was in shock and James' heart had jumped into his throat.

"Glad to know that my reputation precedes me," an amused voice said from the doorway. The four men jumped. They did not hear it open. "Really now," said Lily as she leant against the door frame. "Tell me more about what the royal guard is saying about me, Mr. Lupin." Remus flinched when she said his name. All of them stared back at her in horror.

Lily rolled her eyes. "For god's sake," she said, taking out her knife. "I'm not going to chop off your pretty little heads."

"Then why do you have a knife in your hand?" asked James, staring at the object in question. His cheek tingle from where it had nearly hit him.

"Come here Black," the Captain ordered, completely ignoring James. "Really?" she said, witheringly as she saw his expression. "I am not going to kill you," she enunciated.

Sirius glanced back at his friends before walking over to tiny woman. She smiled. "There's a good lad," she cooed as she grasped his arm and turned him around. "Don't move," she whispered in his ear, causing Sirius to jump. The knife flashed and she brought it down to slit his ropes. They fell in a heap at his feet. She pushed him aside gently.

"Lupin" she called out. Remus came forward and she did the same to him as well before sending him off to where Sirius stood. Lily glanced up at Potter. "I have half the mind to leave you like that for the rest of the journey." She said, playing with her knife. "But since I'm feeling generous... Come here, Potter."

James stalked over and turned around, gritting his teeth all the way. He sensed rather than felt the cool metal hovering at his wrists before it slit the ropes. That was not the only thing it slit though, as James jumped back, hissing in pain. He retracted his wrist almost immediately. A thin, angry red line, only about three inches long ran down his wrist. He muttered a curse under his breath

Lily smiled sweetly at him. "Oops," she said innocently. "My hand slipped. After all, I am just a woman. I shouldn't be trusted with sharp pointy things."

James glared at her as her rubbed his wrist. The tip of the knife had just scraped him. It was not very deep, but it did sting quite a lot.

"I'm sure it did, Captain," he said through clenched teeth.

She smiled saccharinely at him again before turning to the others and saying. "Follow me. And be careful, Potter. We don't need you to fall into the sea. I'm sure salt water would only serve to aggravate that wound even more."

"Of course Captain," he spat. He glared ferociously at her as he ducked out the door. She returned the favour whole heartedly and stepped in front of the group after slamming the door shut and locking it. In the back of his mind, James realised that she did not acknowledge Pettigrew at all.

"I've decided that I'm not going to kill you, at least, not yet," began Lily. Behind her there were three sighs of relief. "But you all are going to be staying on my ship. Not as prisoners, though. You are going to work for your keep aboard this ship."

"Why don't you just kill us?" asked James, still glaring at the red head. Beside him he could hear Sirius cursing him to high heaven.

Lily turned around and gave him a look that he did not know how to place. "I don't break my promises," she said coolly. She turned back around and continued walking as though nothing happened, leaving James confused.

He opened his mouth to question her again when Sirius roughly grabbed on to his arm.

"Leave it, mate," he muttered lowly. "Personally I'm glad she didn't decide to slice off my neck."

James grudgingly agreed, but that did not mean that he did not suspect something. "Yeah, but that was too easy. Peter said that she was ruthless."

"And you're going to take his word for it?" Sirius asked, raising an eyebrow. James had to admit that he had a point.

"Would you two stop whispering and hurry up?" a slightly annoyed Remus said from up front. "We're going to get lost."

The two dark haired men shut up and scurried after their friend. Lily was still a good ten paces in front of them and did not seem to care whether or not they got lost.

After a few more moments of walking, they finally came to a stop in front of another wooden door, though this one looked as though it was able to open from both sides.

"You'll be staying here," she said, opening the door and letting them in. The room was small, but not overly cramped. There was a small bed pushed up against one wall with a rickety bedside table next to it. The floors were scrubbed and in the opposite corner there was a jug with water for washing. Unlike the other rooms they had been in on the ship, this one actually had a window, albeit a small one right opposite the door. There were hooks mounted on the walls and a pile of cloth and ropes in the centre of the room, which James realised belatedly were hammocks.

"You all can fight over who gets the bed," she said happily. "Cheers."

"Wait!" yelled Remus, stopping her. The Captain jumped and turned around, staring wide eyed at him. "How long do we need to stay here?"

The previous smile that she wore now disappeared as she sullenly muttered. "Forever, of course. What other choice do you have?" And with that she strolled out and slammed the door behind her.

Remus faced the other two men. "Did she just say forever?"

Sirius nodded. "Looks like we're stuck on a pirate ship for the rest of our days, Lupin," he said, slapping Remus' back. James was still staring at the spot where Lily was a few seconds ago, evidently in shock.

Staying forever... on a pirate ship of all things. What the hell had he gotten himself into?

* * *

_**If you're interested in more piratey goodness, check out jily pirate fest on tumblr. If you've got any questions, leave 'em in a review or drop me a line on tumblr. Link on the profile.**_

_**~Nai**_


	2. One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

_**And here's chapter 2! I was going for updating every two weeks and it would have been posted last week... if there weren't any freak storms that caused the power to go off and on over the course of four days (it even went for an entire day), impromptu exams and projects and basically life deciding to throw everything at me in one week. Oh well.**_

_**Thanks to all you guys who alerted and favourited. Especially you guys who reviewed: bloodyhell-ronald, scared of clouds, PortiaBennet, theinfalliblesnapsevans, Charlotte Donahue, cgner, and the guest reviewers. Love ya. :)**_

* * *

**One Step Forward, Two Steps Back**

* * *

The kitchen was a cacophony of sound. Pirates clamoured and yelled happily while they ate. Rum was flowing freely, and each crew member had already had at least two tankards of the bitter drink. The Prewett brothers sat at the head of the table, taking part in the merry activities, but also keeping a close eye on the crew, as per request of the young Captain. The crew was generally in high spirits every time they left a port, mainly because their stocks have been replenished, leaving them with plenty food and, of course, rum.

The door to the kitchen opened quietly to admit the Captain. Her fiery hair as pulled up at the nape of her neck and she wore a simple pair of breeches and a shirt. She did not say anything as she walked in, but as soon as she took her seat between Gideon and Fabian, it was all quiet. One of the twins, Fabian, handed her a cup of rum, and she took a small sip. The crew looked at her intently, awaiting instructions.

"As all of you may know," she began, "When we left the last port, we left with three more than we originally had. Stowaways. And not just any stowaways; no, these three are members of the high court. One is the Count of Grimmauld, another the son of a governor and the last is the King's nephew. I have no other choice but to keep them aboard this ship- alive. Anything else and the palace will be after our necks worse than before." Lily gazed out at the solemn faces. "They aren't prisoners however. I've decided to make them part of our crew."

The inevitable protests that she had known was bound to happen came forth. There were angry shouts and insults were thrown at the three men who were currently tucked away in the spare room.

"They're royals, Cap'n! They don't know the first thing about sailing!" a tall and skinny man, Jack, hollered from the back of the room.

"Give 'em a sword and they'll probably grab the wrong end!" called Davies, a burly man from who had an entire bottle of rum in front him.

More and more yells could be heard, the men mainly commenting on the other three's inaptitude. Lily let them continue for a few more minutes before holding up a hand. The men settled down, but not without a few more indignant remarks.

"I did not expect you all to be happy about this, but I am not going to leave them locked up in the hold for the rest of their lives. Firstly, because they did nothing that would justify that, and secondly, we will have to provide for an extra three mouths who did not work for their food or clothing. This is not a ship where you get free passage; you work for your place and those men will do the same. I expect you all to treat them as you do to each other, as well as teach them." Lily paused, sensing their quickly growing irritation about the news she was sharing. Mustering up a wry smile, she continued, "I will be in charge of them, but I expect you all to cooperate."

Silence.

It was obvious that they were still unhappy with this, but she could not do anything else to pacify them. Sighing lightly, Lily said, "I don't like it anymore than you do, but it's either their necks or ours. Keep that in mind before you plot to throw them overboard." That did the trick, as a ripple of laughter sounded throughout the room. Slowly, the chatter resumed and the previous atmosphere was back in full swing. Lily stuck around for a while, talking amongst her crew and taking a sip of her rum every now and then. She was not particularly fond of the burning drink, but would down it from time to time. She stayed for about fifteen minutes or so before excusing herself to go and check on the men, as well as her prisoner. Grabbing a tray with some food, she easily left the kitchen just as quietly as she entered.

The Captain easily made her way down a flight of stairs to the landing where the crew's quarters were, despite the constant rocking of the ship, having long gotten accustomed to it. Balancing the tray on her hip, she rapped sharply on the door. When nobody came to open it, she rolled her eyes and exhaled loudly, pushing the door open. The men looked up, startled, from their positions on the bed.

She raised an eyebrow. "Generally, when someone knocks on the door, it means that they would like to come in," she said scathingly. Lily walked over to the small bedside table and placed the tray atop it. There was a large bowl of soup of kind, a hunk of bread, some water and a bottle of rum. The men said nothing, though they stared at the tray distrustfully, as though they expected her to have poisoned it. Meanwhile, Lily surveyed the room and noted that the hammocks she gave to them were still in the exact same spot where she had left them; in a crumpled heap pushed to the side of the room hastily. She turned back to them and saw that the three of them were cramped on to the small bed. Their knees knocked together and their limbs were tangled. Lily was sure that if they intended on sleeping like that, someone would inevitably fall off in the middle of the night.

"You should really hang those up," she said, walking over to where the mass of fabric lay. She bent down and grabbed one end, hooking one looped end on the wall and the other on the low wooden beam that was just out of her reach. She stood on tip toe and just managed to hook it. She heard a muffled snort from behind her and turned to find the Potter boy sniggering into his hand.

Lily placed her hands on her hips and gave him a quelling glare. "I'm trying to make sure none of you break your arses by falling off the bed on your first night here."

"We're not going to fall off the bed," argued Potter, even as he shifted so that half his body was no longer hanging off. Lily felt a sudden jerk of irritation as he spoke; she could already tell that she wasn't going to like that boy.

"Trust me; these beds aren't made to fit three. One of you will fall off and I'm not going to be rushing to your aid."

"Do you speak from experience, Captain?" Sirius asked, his eye twinkling mischievously as he spoke for the first time since she walked in.

Lily's lips twitched ever so slightly as she fought the urge to laugh. "Wouldn't you like to know, Mr. Black," she replied flirtatiously. The man winked at her and this time she really did laugh. Out of the corner of her eyes, she noticed Potter mocking her and the smile promptly slid off her face. She tossed him the other hammock. He managed to catch it at the last moment and glared at her. Lily glared back just as strong.

"Put it up," she ordered.

He looked at the hammock clutched in his hands then back at her before standing up. Potter was considerably taller than Lily, as the top of her head barely brushed his chin. He leant in until their noses were almost touching and Lily felt her breathing get uneasy as she forced herself to not reach for the dagger hidden within her boot. She barely even noticed the other two men sitting on the bed, shaking their heads at their friend.

"No," he said succinctly, pulling back just a bit so that she was able to fully view his obnoxious smirk.

Lily narrowed her eyes dangerously. "I wasn't asking," she said.

"I don't care," he countered quickly.

"I don't think you understand," said Lily venomously through clenched teeth. "I decided to not keep you prisoner or kill you on the spot. I decided to let you do something with the rest of your lives: serve me. Had you been on any other ship, your body would have been staining the sea red. So you _will_ listen to me, Mr. Potter, whether you want to or not."

"Actually, I won't," he replied, bitingly, standing his ground even when she looked as though she wanted nothing better than to clock him over the head with the tray that she had brought on her way in. "I don't have to do anything that you say, mainly because of the fact that I don't want to."

She smiled acidly at him. "You up that behaviour, Potter and I'll leave you to fend for yourself in the middle of the ocean."

"But you don't want your little secret to get out, now do you, _Miss_ Evans?" said James confidently as he taunted her.

She glared at him. Oh what she would do to run him through with her sword... several times. Lily grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him towards her until she could look him straight in the eye. "Listen Potter, because I'm only going to say this once. This is my ship, not one of you uncle's bleeding ships. I'm in charge here and the fact that you royalty doesn't mean whit to me. You can't bully me into submission as you do with the others," she said heatedly, her nails digging into his chest. They continued to glare at each other, even as Lily released him.

"If I were you, I would be incredibly nice to me, because when you get caught, I may have been able to give you a pardon. You know, maybe have you locked up instead of hanged. But since you're not..." he trailed of suggestively. Lily froze and behind him Remus swore while Sirius shook his head.

"Low blow, James," he muttered, looking up at his friend.

Lily stared at him with utter disdain before clenching her jaw and turning around. "Fine then, _your bloody highness_," she said tersely. "Would you like a pillow made from goose down? Or maybe a five course meal." She glared at him and James realized that he may have just took things a bit too far.

"Look, I didn't mean-"

"When you do fall, please try not to get too much blood on the deck. It's a right pain to scrub out." And with that, she angrily stalked out, slamming the door shut behind her.

James exhaled loudly and threw himself back down on the bed. Not a moment later did Remus slap him sharply behind the head, causing the former to yell out in shock.

"What the bloody hell was that for?" he demanded angrily, running a hand through his already messy hair.

"Must you antagonise that woman?" asked Remus, ignoring his exclamation. "Firstly, she's the Captain of a pirate ship. Pirate ship, James, not one of your uncle's navy ships or a merchant ship, like she pointed out. _Pirate ship_. And secondly, if that wasn't bad enough, she's one of the worst pirates out there. You heard what Peter said. If I were you, I would be the one trying to get on her good side because I would rather much like to stay alive."

"I agree mate," nodded Sirius from where he was pushed up against the wall. "She hasn't tried anything yet. Like she said, if she wanted us dead, she would have killed us the moment we set foot aboard her ship."

"I don't trust her," muttered James darkly. "She's a pirate for god's sake."

"We've realised that," Sirius said exasperatedly. "What we're trying to get through your thick head is that we," he indicated to himself and Remus, "Would very much prefer to stay alive and find a way to get off this ship than get killed."

James glared at his friend and, not knowing how to respond, threw the hammock at his smug face and stalked out, slamming the door behind him in the same manner that the Captain had as she left in her fit of pique.

Sirius turned to Remus with an eyebrow raised. "How much do you want to bet that the poor sod gets lost?"

* * *

Lily angrily made her way back to the Captain's office, cursing James Potter all the way. How dare he say those things to her? Doesn't he realise that in this game of cat and mouse he was most definitely the mouse and that she could kill him in an instant if she felt as though he was being overly irritating. Which he was, but Lily was never one to take the easy way out. She had too much pride to let him see that he had gotten to her. Of course, he would be dead, but that was beside the point.

She softly shut the door to her cabin and took a seat behind the large desk, rubbing her temples as she did so. Never had she met someone with the ability to give her a headache with just a few words until James Potter wandered onto her ship, bringing with him a boat load of trouble. Now she was going to have to take time to teach those mongrels the ways of the sea while carrying on with her usual duties and maintaining the safety of everyone on this ship. She was beginning to regret allowing them on the ship in the first place.

Absentmindedly, she began playing with the small key attached to the long, gold chain she wore around her neck. The key wasn't for any extravagant treasure buried miles away, but for something that Lily considered more valuable any treasure the world could offer her. A knock sounded at the door and successfully jolted her out of her reverie. Immediately, Lily knew who it was and dropped the chain back into her shirt before calling them in.

The door opened to admit Gideon holding a grimy and fearful Peter Pettigrew.

"As you requested, Captain," Gideon mumbled lowly, prodding the shorted man forward so that he stumbled into the room.

"Thank you, Gideon," Lily smiled, though she never took her eyes off the watery eyed man who was twitching slightly as he glanced about the room. "Bring me something for our lovely guest to eat, would you?"

"Of course, Captain," he replied before closing the door, leaving the pair alone in the dimly lit room. Lily smiled at the dingy man, but it lacked warmth. She stood up, sending the chair harshly scraping against the wooden floor and causing Peter to flinch. Lily languidly walked around the desk, all the time looking at him. Every time she got too close for comfort, he would back away and soon enough he was pressed against the desk. Lily on the other hand seemed to either be unconscious of her movements or pretending to be uninterested to unnerve him even further.

"Sit," she said softly at last, causing him to jump. Peter did as he was told and looked up at the woman with wide eyes that did nothing to hide his obvious fear. Lily struck a match and lit a lamp that hung on the wall. That flame danced, casting flickering shadows across the walls of the cabin. She took her sweet time in returning back to her original position behind the desk and when she finally did, she sat atop the wooden structure instead of the chair provided for that use.

Pettigrew regarded her anxiously as she was yet to say anything on the subject of his being summoned up here. Lily continued to be nonplussed and casually reached into a drawer and pulled out a small flask. She uncorked it and took a swift pull before covering it and replacing it back in to the drawer.

"Tell me, Pettigrew, what position did you have aboard your previous ship?" she asked lightly, brushing the red hair out of her face.

"I didn't have anything fixed; I did a bit of everything, really," he replied nervously. Lily hummed nonchalantly.

"So why did your old Captain- what was his name again? Wilkes?" Peter flinched unconsciously, but Lily remained aloof and pressed on. "Why did Captain Wilkes have you onboard?"

Peter hesitated before shrugging half heartedly. "I dunno; I guess he thought... I was good at tying knots."

"Tying knots?" Lily repeated, an eyebrow cocked.

"Yeah," he nodded assertively.

The next thing he knew was that something hard had struck his face very quickly and very painfully. It took him almost a full minute before he realised that Lily had slapped him. The Captain, for her part, looked completely nonplussed, as though nothing out of the ordinary had just occurred.

"Let me tell you a little secret, Pettigrew," Lily began offhandedly. "I know when I'm being lied to. And I don't like it when someone lies to me." She looked him sternly, as though berating a child for stealing a cookie. "So let me ask again: why did Captain Wilkes have you onboard?"

"I don't know," he replied forcefully, flinching every time she moved. Lily sent him a withering look and the man shrunk back into his seat.

"You see, Pettigrew," she said, jumping off the desk lightly and turning her back towards him as she walked. "Captains, when they recruit a new member, it's because that member is very good at something, or has something very useful that would help everyone aboard that ship in the long run. A particular trait or knowledge of some sort. Now we could do this two ways, Pettigrew: the hard way or my way if you-"

"I'm a good swordsman!" he blurted out at last. His face was flushed and he kept on looking all over the room as he breathed heavily. "Wilkes had me aboard that ship because I know how to fight very well."

"Really now," asked Lily, staring at him in a way that he could not identify.

"Yes," he nodded fervently.

The cabin was quiet for a moment, the only sounds being that of the ocean surrounding the ship. Finally, Lily said, "Alright," and held open the door for him.

Peter looked back and forth between the Captain and the door. Once he was sure that she wasn't teasing him, he slowly got up and walked out of the cabin, keeping his eyes on her. He expected her to slam the door in his face and laugh at him at any given moment. She did not however, and he was able to make it out of the cabin without incident.

Most of the crew were on deck at that time and when he wandered out, they stopped what they were doing and stared at him. Some of the men sneered while others made rude comments. Peter tried to ignore them and kept on walking, stumbling ever so slightly. However, once the men started smiling, Peter couldn't help but to turn around to see what it was that caught their attention, as curiosity caught the better of him. What he saw made his stomach drop and dread was once more coursing through his veins.

The Captain stood there in the doorway, holding two swords and Peter was sure he knew who those were for.

The entire deck was silent as the crew stared reverently at their captain. Peter barely noticed the silence as his heart was pounding in his ears.

"According to Mr Pettigrew here," she began. "He was onboard that ship because he was a good swordsman. Keep in mind that this is the same man who, once he caught sight of us aboard his ship, ran to hide. And he is supposedly one of the better swordsman onboard."

The crowd jeered at him and Peter felt as though he was going to throw up.

"So I propose this to suggestion to you, Mr Pettigrew," Lily said easily, spinning one of the swords in her hands as she spoke. "Let's have a swordfight. If you win, you can be free to go. If you lose, you stay here and do as I ask for the rest of your days."

They all cheered loudly and Lily grinned. She walked forward until she was directly in front of him. "Choose a sword, swordsman."

A shaky hand reached out and grabbed the larger of the two weapons. Out of the corner of her eyes, Lily saw that Gideon was back with Pettigrew's supper. Lily shot him a quick smile and said, "You can leave that on any of the barrels, Gid." The man did as he was told and leaned against a wall, smirking slightly.

Lily raised her sword and said, "Ready?" as a mischievous sparkle speared in her eyes. Peter gave a cross between a squeak and a yes and Lily- along with most of the crew- laughed.

"On the count of three," she said. "One... two... three!"

There was the sound of metal clashing in the air as the swords met. He was stronger than her, but only marginally and both parties knew that she was the more skilled fighter. Lily twisted her hands and manoeuvred in such a way that she was able to overpower his poor defence. Their swords met again and this time she turned and retracted her sword, bringing it down in an arc that caused him to jump to the side to avoid getting sliced in half.

This continued for another few minutes or so. It was evident from the first meeting of the swords that Lily was just playing with him. In the end, she got bored and with one swift twist of the wrist, she easily disarmed him by sending his sword skittering away several feet from him. The crowd which had gathered around them cheered and guffawed as the man hastily bent over to retrieve his sword, ducking his head slightly to hide the quickly growing flush on his cheeks.

He had barely grasped the cool metal in his hand when he felt the tip of the Captain's sword lightly pressing against his neck.

"Drop the sword and slowly stand up," ordered Lily, threateningly pointing the sword at him. If he jerked back suddenly, Peter was positive that he would get skewered. So he did as he was told and slowly stood back up, although his head was still ducked.

"Gentlemen," she simpered, never lifting her sword from his neck. "His sword skills are the reasons he was allowed onto the ship." Laughter again and Peter's face felt hot. "Shows a lot about Captain Wilkes' fighting skills, eh?"

The crew laughed again and Lily pushed him back towards Gideon. "Take him back down. I might visit him later, when he decides to be cooperative."

Gideon nodded and grasped the man by his elbows and led him back down to the hold. The crowd slowly dissipated until Lily was virtually alone. She smiled tiredly to herself, but that short moment of happiness quickly diminished as Potter's voice rang through the deck again.

"You could have killed him!" he yelled out, walking towards her.

"I could have," she said easily, imagining various scenarios in which her sword ends up lodged in his person.

"Why didn't you?" he asked, feigning indifference even as a slight note of curiosity coloured his voice.

"Contrary to popular belief," Lily began in a cool and clipped tone, "I don't kill everything that moves. I'm a pirate; not a savage. Some of us do have manners you know. Shockingly, that doesn't only belong to your people."

"I doubt that," he mumbled lowly.

The Captain's green orbs narrowed into slits, but other than that, she ignored the slight jab. "Go back to your room, Potter. I'm not going to rescue you when you fall overboard."

"Why do you think that I'll end up injuring myself?" he asked, slightly annoyed.

"Your kind isn't familiar with the sea. All of you just see her as nothing more than another form of transportation to get your money," Lily said scathingly. "It's obvious that nobles ignore the wondrous thing that's the ocean. She's the reason we're able to trade with other nations, but she could also destroy you in a heartbeat if need be."

"You talk about the ocean as though it's a person," James said, rolling his eyes.

"That's because she is. A good sailor knows that she isn't something to just be used and tossed aside; she's a vast expanse of pure power that everyone should be afraid of," Lily said as she stared out into the distance. "I don't expect men like you to understand. After all, you could have barely understood the fact that a woman was the Captain of a pirate ship."

"For Christ's sake, if I apologise for that snub would you let it be?" he pleaded, rubbing a hand across his face.

"No," she replied before turning on her heel and stalking off towards her cabin, closing the door with a resounding thud. James was left alone and he sighed loudly before walking back downstairs.

* * *

He heard Sirius and Remus' conversation (and the laughter which followed) even as he walked out of the room. He wasn't going to get lost. Those tossers didn't know what they were talking about, he thought to himself as he absentmindedly walked down a flight of stairs. He was James Potter, and James Potter does not get lost.

So consumed in his thoughts that he was, James did not realise that he had almost gone down two flights of stairs. He gazed around at his surroundings, trying to look for something familiar to show which part of the boat he was on. Unfortunately for him, this part of the ship looked just like all the other parts, what with its wooden walls which were cracked and chipped and worn, which went along with the doors that panelled each side of the corridor. However, as he walked down the hall, he smelt something like similar to that of the soup Lily had brought to his room a few minutes ago and soon enough, was also able to hear the clanging of pots and pans, laughter and the occasional swear word, all of which seemed to originate from the head of the corridor.

Immediately James knew that this was the kitchens.

He hesitantly pushed open the door and was greeted by another round of raucous laughter. There were a few men- three for the most, including one of the red haired men that he first saw on deck- all of whom had large tankards in front of them. Over to the far right, laughing along with them as he rubbed a white cloth over the tankards which weren't in use was a tall, wiry man with dark hair, just like James'.

"Oi, look," called out one of the men from the table, having finally noticed James standing in the doorway. "The Cap'n's plaything has wandered down here, mates." The men laughed.

"I'm not the Captain's anything, thank you very much," James replied, very much affronted by that statement.

"Ignore him," advised the wiry man. He shot James a carefree grin, one which the latter hesitantly returned. "Benjy Fenwick," introduced the man, wiping his hands on the white apron he wore over his clothes. "I'm the cook on this ship." He held out a hand and James lightly shook it.

"James Potter," he replied. Benjy nodded.

"Aye; I don't think there's a soul on this ship who don't know who you are," said Benjy said. "We don't really like royalty around here."

"I've realised," said James, his eyes unconsciously floating over to the man who had first acknowledge him as he walked through the door.

"That's Jack. He's drunk," said the other man, as though being inebriated cleared everything up.

Not knowing what also to say, James simply replied with an unconcerned, "Ah."

"It was strange news," he continued. "Hearing that we found stragglers on board. Most people would say that you're lucky you're still living after a run in with the Red Head Horror." He paused for a moment to laugh. "Lily isn't like that, not really. She's courageous to the point of stupidity, yeah, but if there's one thing I'm sure of from all my years of knowing her is that she has a firm sense of right and wrong. She would never intentionally hurt an innocent person, no matter how much they got on her nerves." His eyes twinkled up at James, and the other man found himself staring fixedly at a knife stuck in the wooden surface of the counter as the back of his neck warmed.

Silence fell in between the pair and all that could be heard was the guffawing of the men who sat in the middle of the room around a large scarred table. Next thing James knew, the door was being opened again, this time to admit the other red haired man.

"Lo Fenwick," he greeted as he walked in. His eyes zoned in on the group sitting around the table and a small smile curved around his mouth. "Sober up, Fabian!" he called out to the other red haired man. "If Lily finds you like that, she'll have your arse." The other men along with Gideon laughed, while Fabian threw a rude hand gesture towards his brother. This just made Gideon laugh even harder until he caught sight of James standing awkwardly in the corner, watching back and forth between the two men.

"Trying to get a feel of the place?" he asked with an eyebrow raised.

"Er sure; let's go with that," said James, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly. He could've sworn that Gideon's lips twitched upwards for just the barest wisp of a second, but he could be wrong.

The ginger haired man turned to the cook and muttered something lowly, as to not be overheard by their fellow companions. James, for his part, did not try to listen in on their obviously private conversation and instead stood idly against the wall, shifting his weight from foot to foot. However, he did pick up on a few phrases despite his best attempts at not listening.

"...Lily... Pettigrew up with her..." said Gideon, his mouth twisting unpleasantly as he said Peter's name.

Benjy nodded along to what the taller man said. The words became muddled once more and then the cook abruptly turned around and started ladling some of the brown coloured stew into a bowl, similar to what the Captain had brought up for them a half an hour prior, and placed a large piece of bread next to it. Benjy handed the tray to Gideon before the two of them started back talking. During that time, Fabian had gotten up from the table and stumbled out the door, slurring curses all the way. His brother watched him go, an amused expression on his face.

"Lily is going to positively murder him when she finds him in this state," he said, laughing at his sibling's misfortune. Catching sight of James' slightly confused expression, he explained, "The Captain hates it when someone gets drunk. She hardly even tolerates it when we're celebrating."

"It's my head she looks for when one of you lot get drunk," chuckled Benjy. "Apparently I'm supposed to discourage drinking in the kitchen. She seems to forget that there're ten of you all and only one of me."

James realised that the more he learnt about her, the stranger the elusive Red Head Horror became. What type of pirate hated getting drunk? Isn't that all they cared about? Getting drunk, pillaging ships and stealing women? Well, James would not expect her to do the latter, but the other two still stand. He attributed this to the fact that she was a woman. He could barely understand the women of the court, much less one that was a pirate. James decided to keep his musings to himself and absentmindedly rubbed the inside of his wrist, a reminder of what happened last time he insinuated something against her gender. Now _that_ he attributed to her being a ginger. Their tempers were legendary.

He was jolted out his reverie by the other brother grabbing the tray and, after ducking his head in acknowledgement, left the room. James glanced back at Benjy who was talking with the other men sitting at the table. Slowly, he back out of the kitchen and managed to see Gideon's figure turning a corner. James quickly followed him down the hall and up the stairs. He would be the first to admit that hearing her name being dropped piqued his attention.

After walking for what seemed like several minutes, they finally found themselves on deck. The other pirates were gathered in a crowd and Lily stood in the middle, holding two swords while Pettigrew looked as though he was about to wet himself. Everyone's attention was directed to the pair in the centre of the deck, even the man who was at the wheel craned his neck to see the action unfurling behind him. James was suddenly glad that there was not much that one could crash into out here in the middle of the ocean.

"You can leave that on any of the barrels, Gid," called Lily once she caught sight of her red haired friend. She had not seen that James was up on deck, as he made sure to stand in the shadows. Gideon, who stood a few paces away from James, nodded and smirked as Lily went back to talking to Peter. James leant against the wooden wall for support as the ship rocked back and forth, lest he loose his balance and fall in the middle of the Captain's 'demonstration.' He would rather much like to stay away from her while she is holding sharp objects.

There was a loud clang of metal and James jumped before gathering his wits about him and craning his neck to view the battle. He knew how to use a sword, having learnt so from a young age back at the palace. It was obvious that Evans knew she was infinitely better than the lumbering, dirty pirate. He could see it in the way she held her sword; loosely, sometimes only using her left hand. James knew that soon enough she would get tired of playing and then... well, he would not like to think about it. Or be Pettigrew either.

There was the sound of something heavy hitting the board and sure enough, with one quick flick, the Captain had disarmed him and sent his weapon flying several feet away. The crowd cheered and jeered and even James could admit that it was impressive. She did it so easily, almost in a lazy fashion. She sent him to retrieve his sword, only to come up behind him and point her sword at his neck. James' breath caught in his throat, as he was sure she was going to behead him.

Thankfully, she did not and instead a few words were exchanged between them before she called upon Gideon to return Peter back down to the brigantine. The man unfurled himself from the wall and walked over to where she stood, grabbing Peter. The crowd began to disperse and as Gideon walked past him, James made a snap decision.

"You could have killed him!" he shouted as he walked over to where she stood, smiling slightly. Almost as soon as she heard his voice did her smile disappear and she closed her eyes. He guessed that she was most likely counting to ten to stop herself from killing him.

"I could have."

"Why didn't you?" he asked, trying to sound casual even though the curiosity burned him.

"Contrary to popular belief," Evans said brusquely, "I don't kill everything that moves. I'm a pirate; not a savage. Some of us do have manners you know. Shockingly, that doesn't only belong to your people." She glared at him.

"I doubt that," James muttered mostly to himself.

Her glare intensified. "Go back to your room, Potter. I'm not going to rescue you when you fall overboard."

James clenched his fists at his sides. "Why do you think that I'll end up injuring myself?" he asked rhetorically and slightly annoyed.

"Your kind isn't familiar with the sea," she replied scathingly, before going on some long winded spiel, half of which James did not listen to.

"You talk about the ocean as though it's a person," he said, rolling his eyes.

"That's because she is. A good sailor knows that she isn't something to just be used and tossed aside; she's a vast expanse of pure power that everyone should be afraid of," said the Captain as she looked out into the ocean. "I don't expect men like you to understand. After all, you could have barely understood the fact that a woman was the Captain of a pirate ship."

He refrained from wincing. "For Christ's sake, if I apologise for that snub would you let it be?"

"No," she replied before turning on her heel and stalking off towards her cabin, closing the door with a resounding thud. James was left alone and he sighed loudly before walking back downstairs. It took him a few minutes to locate the room he was sentenced to, but he managed just fine, closing the door and slumping against it.

"What took you so long?" asked Sirius, swaying slightly in the hammock that Lily strung up. "Remus and I were beginning to think you jumped ship. Or fell off the ship."

James glared weakly at them.

"Did you get lost?" said Remus, who was lying on the bed and, despite looking slightly pale, smirked slightly at him.

"No, so you don't have to worry about losing a bet to this one," he replied, jerking his thumb in Sirius' direction.

"Nah; we didn't make the bet anyway," Remus replied, not batting an eyelash at the fact that James knew that they were having a laugh at his expense.

"I hate you all," he muttered bitterly, grabbing the spare hammock from the floors. He fumbled with it for a moment before finally managing to hook it on to the pegs. James toed off his shoes and clambered in to the hammock, ignoring the subtle (and not so subtle) jibes that Remus and Sirius threw his way.

* * *

_**You know what make really great birthday gifts? Reviews.**_

_**;)**_


	3. Blood of the Convent

_**Confession: this chapter was written over a week and a half ago but I didn't have any time to beta it. After a week had passed and I realized that I didn't do shit, I decided to take a proactive approach and enlist the help of a beta because I barely have time to write, much less beta my things. So you all can thank the lovely Dee for making this chapter presentable! :)**_

_**Big hugs to all the reveiwers, followers and favouriters (2 of those are not real words but we'll pretend that they are)**_

* * *

**Blood of the Convent**

* * *

A flash of lightning illuminated the village, followed quickly by a teeth-rattling clap of thunder. The rain fell in white sheets, making it impossible to see further than a few feet in front of you. The cobblestone streets were empty, as none in their right mind would venture out in this weather. Lightning flashed again and a little girl, looking no older than eight years old, pressed herself further against the slippery stone wall. She was undoubtedly soaked to the bone. Her red hair was darkened by the water and stuck to her face, and her teeth were chattering. Her dress was torn and muddied, and there was a jacket draped over her shoulders that looked like it belonged to a man nearly three times her size. Her arms were wrapped around her thin middle as she looked for somewhere that was warm and dry, where she could stay until the rain eased up.

She crouched down in the alley with her back to the wall. She had spent the last few days hiding out in the back of a carriage that was transporting potatoes, jumping out only yesterday to carry on the rest of the way on foot. The girl did not know where she was going or what she would do when she ended up there, but she did know that she had to get away from those dratted Dursleys. Since she lost her parents to the fever, she and her older sister had been on their own until, one day, an esteemed-looking woman found them and took them to her home in Privet Drive.

Mrs. Dursley. She'd doted on Petunia but barely tolerated Lily. Lily did not mind receiving less attention. She absolutely hated the woman and her whale of a son. Sometimes she would sneak out and play with the garden boy, who would teach her how to wield a sword, both of them duelling with branches, until Mrs. Dursley found them and yelled at her. _This is not how a lady behaves_, she would say, before snatching the branches from them and sending her off without supper.

Suddenly a door opened, light spilling out into the alley and making the young girl squeak in fright.

"Hello?" someone - a girl, she would realise later - said. "Is someone there?"

Lily held her breath, trying her best to keep quiet, and simultaneously pushing herself further back until she was sure that she would be out of sight. Whoever heard her stood in the doorway for a few more minutes before giving up, thinking that maybe they had just imagined the entire thing, and starting to close the door. Unfortunately, at that exact moment, Lily sneezed and the person by the door jerked it open once more and saw her this time.

The girl was probably in her late teens and had red hair, just like her. Her eyes widened when she caught sight of her small, shivering form.

"Are you alright?" she asked, offering her a small smile and quickly darting through the rain to grab her by her arm. "Come on, dear, let's get you inside. I'm Molly, by the way."

"Li- Lily," the other girl said, rubbing her nose.

Molly smiled at her and gently ushered her into the house. Lily visibly relaxed once the first wave of heat enveloped her body, only to sneeze again. Molly tutted. "Best we get you out of those soaked clothes. Don't want you to catch a fever."

Lily paled at words, and an image of her parents, lying on their deathbeds as she and Petunia, unable to do anything, stood by them, flashed through her head. She immediately started tugging at her drenched clothes to get them off. Molly chuckled and took her up a flight of rickety stairs, leading her to a small bedroom off the side, and helped her change. She opened a small cupboard and took out a dress of hers that had gotten much too small and handed it to Lily with a smile.

Lily took it and murmured a quick, "Thank you."

"Gideon! Fabian!" called Molly as she took Lily by the hand and walked with her to the adjoining room - the kitchen - before seating her at a worn wooden table. Two boys with identical orange-coloured hair ran into the room. They looked to be just a few years older than Lily.

"Who's that?" asked the boy on the right.

"You're being rude, Fabian," reprimanded Molly. She waited until he looked properly abashed before continuing. "This is Lily."

"You're pretty," said the other boy. Molly rolled her eyes.

"Didn't I just say that you're being rude?" she said.

"But you told that to Fabian!" he protested.

"It was meant for you as well," she retorted. "Now Lily is going to be staying with us for a while or until - oh, where are your parents?"

Lily's eyes dropped to the ground. "They died," she muttered, her eyes trained on the wooden floor.

None of them said anything; the only sound that could have been heard throughout the small house was that of the storm raging on outside.

Finally, Lily looked up and caught Molly looking at her sympathetically. "You're not from around here, are you?" she asked.

She shook her head. "My family lived in Cokeworth. It's a small fishing town in the-"

"South," Molly finished, looking at her in surprise. "Cokeworth is at least a week's travel by carriage. How did you get here?"

Lily launched into the story of how Mrs. Dursley found her and Petunia and took them in, explaining that how their relationship had been hostile at best, until Lily left in the middle of the night with a small sack of gold, her mother's necklace and wedding ring, and a picture of them as a family, dressed in her father's old coat that he used when he went out at sea. No one interrupted her and Lily continued speaking, only pausing when Molly got up and brought her a bowl of soup.

"Well that's quite an adventure," she said at last, once Lily finished talking.

"You learned how to sword fight?" said one of the twins excitedly. "That's so wicked!"

Lily blushed slightly. "It was only with a stick," she replied lamely.

"Well, I for one think that she should stay here, don't you, boys?" announced Molly. The boys, Gideon and Fabian, nodded enthusiastically.

"But, what about your parents?" asked Lily, already feeling as though she was intruding.

Molly waved off her worries and said, "They trade for a living; they're hardly here. I run the little pub downstairs."

Lily's eyes widened. "Wow."

"So will you stay?" she asked, looking at the younger girl expectantly.

Lily bit her lip, hesitating a bit before nodding. Molly smiled and, to Lily's immense surprise, hugged her.

Lily stayed with the Prewetts until she was sixteen. For the first few months, she would disappear for hours without telling anyone where she was going, causing Molly to panic. She was, of course, properly berated when she chose to return home and she would stand shamefacedly and receive her telling-off. She would stop for a few weeks or so before going right back to doing it again. After a while, Molly had all but given up on trying to break her out of that habit and just let her come and go as she pleased. Sometimes she would disappear for a week or two (or even three) before resurfacing once more, unscathed and with stories to tell the boys.

She, Fabian and Gideon became inseparable. It was clear that Lily, despite being the youngest and the smallest, had reigns on both of them, as they did whatever she asked. She taught them how to climb trees, tie knots, how to fish and, their favourite, how to sword fight using branches that they found.

In her last year living with them, Molly and her newfound partner, a strange but kind-hearted man by the name of Arthur Weasley, moved from the town of Diagon to Ottery St. Catchpole, a smaller town located close to the coast. It reminded Lily of her days when she used to go out to sea with her dad to catch fish. The first thing that the three of them did once they arrived was go swimming. Neither Gideon nor Fabian knew how to swim, but Lily did, though she might have been a bit rusty. Within a few months she taught them and they were almost as good as she.

There was an announcement one day of a new merchant ship looking for helpers. Lily persuaded them to join her, to go and explore the ocean. They agreed and they all got on to the ship. Of course, the captain had a problem of a girl being on board and insisted she show him how good of a fighter she was. After roughhousing with the boys for over eight years of her life along with practicing with sticks, she clearly impressed the Captain and that was how the three of them (passing as brother and sister for the time being) started their life at sea.

* * *

The ship rocked gently that night, but Lily slept fitfully. She dreamed of the King catching up with her, of having to watch all her men – her friends – die right in front of her before she was executed, images of her crew flying high with ropes around their necks invading her mind. If it was not that, then it was swords and blood. Her blankets were tangled around her waist as she tossed and turned.

"Sev," she gasped out before bolting upright in bed. Her heart was hammering and her hair was stuck to the nape of her neck. Lily fumbled around for a moment, trying to find her flask of water. Once she'd found it, she took several large sips, draining it completely. She swung her feet out of bed and stumbled over to her desk where she then lit the two candles.

Lily ran a hand through her tangled hair, combing out the knots before tying it up with the leather cord. She caught sight of herself in the small exposed part of the grimy mirror and cursed loudly. She looked back at her bed - the sheets were half off the mattress, while one of the pillows was nowhere to be found - and sighed. It was obvious that she was not going to - or more accurately, could not - go back to sleep. Instead, she shoved her feet into her boots, shrugged on her coat and walked out the door, slamming it behind her.

The deck was empty, save for the person at the wheel: Bones, she thinks.

"Go get some sleep, Edgar," she ordered as she walked up to him. The poor man was half asleep already. He did not put up any resistance; instead he nodded and stumbled away, bleary-eyed. Lily grasped the wheel in her hands, feeling the power of the ocean buzzing through the wood as she stared out at sea and watched how the sky slowly lightened.

It was fairly dark when Remus Lupin came on deck. He did not notice the Captain standing at the wheel, a mere ten paces away from where he stood leaning against the banister, until she called him out.

"Alright there, Lupin?" she asked, making him jump slightly.

He gave her a tired smile. "Yeah. Can't sleep."

Lily nodded. "Same here."

They stood there for a while, neither of them talking, just listening to the waves lap against the sides of The Phoenix until the sky turned pink.

Remus glanced over his shoulder at her small form. He could admit that she was very pretty, even though she could kill him in a second if she needed to. Her eyes were trained hard in front of her to the sea, but he would bet that she was not really seeing the wide expanse of ocean at all. The green swirled like the sea as her mind whirled on.

Clearing his throat, he asked, "So what exactly are you going to be teaching us?"

Lily looked back at him before turning to the front once more. "Not much; I don't exactly expect you all to do anything."

He felt a flicker of irritation, but quelled it. "Look, I know that James was – _is _- being a prat, but Sirius and I would be happy to help out."

She turned again to look at him challengingly. He met her gaze with a defiant one of his own. "You're right; Potter is a prat," she said, going back to the ocean. In spite of her succinct speech, Remus felt as though she was actually listening to what he said.

"I'll teach you all how to tie the riggings, fight and handle the ship," she said at last.

"That doesn't sound too difficult," he said thoughtfully.

Lily snorted. "Sure; that's what you think. Why don't you come over here and try to steer her?"

Remus looked at her questioningly, but all she did was scoff at him and continue holding onto the wheel. He walked over and placed his hands exactly where she had hers, surprised to feel the amount of power surging through it. He gripped on tight as the ocean tried to take the little control he had over the vessel away from him. Lily laughed as she watched him, letting him struggle for a few more moments before taking back control.

"Alright," said Remus, a bit out of breath. "I get your point."

"Good," she replied. He did not have to be looking at her to know that she was smirking. Lily looked up at him and said, "Go and find Fenwick, Lupin. Tell him I told you to get some breakfast."

"Er, who?"

"Benjy Fenwick, the cook; he should be in the kitchens. Walk around; you'll find it eventually," she dismissed him.

Remus left and headed back downstairs, clinging on to the walls. He had never been particularly fond of being on a ship. The constant rocking back and forth made him feel sick and he could never walk properly. Before heading off on his quest to find the kitchens, he stopped back in the room he shared with the other two.

"Wake up, you twats," he announced loudly.

Sirius groaned before rolling over and cursing loudly when he almost fell out of the hammock.

"Bloody hell," he groaned into his pillow. "I thought that I had dreamt all this and when I woke up, I would have a nasty headache and beautiful woman in bed with me."

"Can you idiots keep it down?" muttered James sleepily as he shoved his head under the pillow. "I'm trying to sleep."

"When Lily comes and find you two sleeping, she'll probably throw you both on the floor," said Remus.

"Since when is she 'Lily'?" grumbled James, opening his eyes slightly to look at Remus suspiciously.

"Well it's her name, isn't it?" countered Remus, effectively evading James' question.

After some more coercion on his part (and many more expletives on their part) Remus finally got James and Sirius out of their hammocks and fully coherent. He waited patiently as they readied themselves for the day, dressing in the same clothes they wore yesterday.

"Right," he said, once Sirius finished tying his shoelaces. "Does anyone know where the kitchens are?"

"I found them yesterday," said James through a yawn. When he realised that both Remus and Sirius were staring at him, he said, "What?"

"Told you he'd get lost," Sirius said, turning to Remus.

"I didn't get lost," protested James.

"Quiet, you," hushed Sirius.

"What he means," interjected Remus, giving Sirius a reprimanding glare. "Is that we want to know if you can do it again?"

James scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. "Maybe."

He could not.

It was nearly half an hour later when they stumbled into the kitchen where half the crew were, talking amongst themselves.

"This is why we don't listen to this git," said Sirius, slapping James' head. James knocked his shoulder as retaliation and before Remus realised it, they were both fighting, while the other pirates looked on with various expressions of amusement.

After a few moments, Remus separated them. "Must you act like children?" he asked.

"Sirius is being a wanker," objected James.

"I have to agree with Lupin," a new voice cut in.

Gideon walked in between the three boys and took Sirius and James by their shoulders. He pushed them towards the table and seated them there, before the gangly dark-haired boy from the corner - James recognised him as Benjy, the cook - placed a plate of ... something in front of them. Remus, sensing everyone looking at him as well, slowly joined.

"Where's Lily?" asked Gideon. Many of the men shrugged and muttered something under their breath.

"Last I saw her, she was at the wheel," said Remus, not understanding why the men stayed quiet.

Gideon's brow crinkled. "Wheel? Isn't it Bones' shift?"

The men shifted around uncomfortably for another few moments before one of them actually replied. "Aye," called a man from the back. "She came out 'round three or so this morning and told me to get some rest before taking over."

The red-haired man calculated how long she was up there for and swore, apparently not liking the results he got. "Bloody hell; stupid bird's been up there for almost five hours." He turned on his heel to leave the room when he paused and said, "You three," he gestured to Sirius and they, "Come up on deck when you're done with breakfast."

"Is that what this is?" murmured Sirius, earning two elbows in the stomach from James and Remus.

Gideon rolled his eyes. "Just get on deck when you finish so you can start learning how things are run around here," he said before leaving, slamming the door behind him.

The kitchen fell silent, the tension between the three and the pirates was almost tangible. Fortunately, each group kept to themselves and did not interact. The three of them hurriedly ate what seemed to be some sort of mashed potato with bits of meat in it, and drank a glass of water tinged with the slight taste of rum.

Once they were done, they stacked their dishes and slowly made their way on deck, where Lily was waiting for them, spending her time glaring at the back of Gideon's head. The other man was at the wheel of the ship, having apparently taken it away from the Captain.

* * *

"Exactly how long have you been there?" demanded Gideon as he walked to the front of the ship where Lily was, still at the wheel.

"Dunno," she replied carelessly. "Since it was dark. Came out here because I couldn't sleep and ended up taking the wheel from Eddie. Poor lad was asleep on his feet."

"Right; and do you know what time it is now?" he asked, barely keeping the slight anger out of his tone.

"No, but I bet you're going to tell me," said Lily. He could practically hear her eyes rolling.

He placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Lils," he began softly. "You've been out here since around three; it's probably about past eight by now. That's five hours."

Lily sighed. "I know; I just ... I just needed to do something."

"So you decided to stand at the wheel for over five hours?" said Gideon doubtfully. "What happened?"

"Nothing happened," replied Lily. Gideon stared at her, frowning slightly and eyes narrowed. "Fine; I had a bad dream, okay?"

"What was it ab - " he began asking before she held up a hand.

"Please don't."

The two of them lapsed into silence, with Lily still holding on tightly to the ship's wheel.

"Remember when we were little and had a nightmare, Molly would have lit a candle by our beds for us?" he said after some time. Lily laughed slightly and smiled as she reminisced of her childhood.

"I remember that one time you tried to set my hair on fire with that same candle," she said fondly, causing him to blush slightly. "You said that the closer the flame was to your head, the better it would work. She almost skinned you alive for that one."

"Now she's got her own little ones to skin when they do crap like we did," said Gideon. "She just had another little boy. I think we might have to pay her a visit soon. If only to threaten Arthur." The two of them laughed again.

"Come on, Lils; let me take over the wheel for you."

Lily's smile dropped and she tightened her grip on the wheel. "I'm fine, Gideon," she said icily. "I don't need to be babied."

"I wasn't saying - "

"Oh yes you were," she snapped. "I'm not a little girl anymore, Gideon. I can handle myself and a few nightmares aren't going to make me incapable of carry out my duties."

Gideon grabbed her arms and pried them off of the wheel, replacing them with his own. "You should go get some rest, Lily. At the very least, go sit down or something."

Lily glared at him. "You can't tell me what to do; I'm the Captain of this ship."

"I'm telling you as a friend. Frankly, I don't care if you're the Captain or not."

Lily stared at him coldly and disdainfully, her face set. He stared right back at her, masking any traces of emotion that he felt. In the back of her mind, Lily cursed him for having such a good poker face. There was a reason no one ever wanted to gamble with Gideon. Seeing that he was not to be dissuaded, she clenched her jaw and walked away to stand in the middle of the deck. She folded her arms and had to content herself with glaring at his back.

A few minutes later she caught sight of the three boys. She smiled slightly at both Remus and Sirius, but made a face of utmost displeasure at James' arrival, one which he returned most wholeheartedly.

"Morning," she said cheerily. "I trust that there were no incidents last night?"

"Right as rain, Captain," replied Sirius, stepping forward. "Right as rain."

Lily laughed. "Charming as usual, Mr. Black," she told him demurely before jumping into what she had planned out for them to do today. Since this was their first time doing anything aboard a pirate ship, Lily thought it would be best to start them out on something rather easy: knot tying. She showed them how to do several knots that would be useful to know aboard any ship and, around the time lunch rolled around, all three of them had mastered at least two out of the five she showed them.

"That's great," she told them earnestly as they paused for lunch. "You can continue after."

Once they had left, she escaped to her office to pour over some maps. After years of being at sea, Lily had collected a vast amount of maps of all kinds. She sat behind her desk with a quill clasped loosely in her hand as she perused a very old one. Along with being wrinkled and torn at the edges, it was also severely outdated and had scratches and marks all over it. Lily valued it more than any of the others. This was her personal map. Each time they visited a port, she would write down her thoughts of it on the map, as well as put in new ports that popped up and scratch out the old ones that no longer existed.

She carefully watched their proposed path, from the south eastern end of England all the way to Wales on the lesser travelled route. Sure, the seas were a bit rougher and it took a few days longer, but she did not mind if it meant that her crew would be kept safe.

The ship rocked from side to side, a bit rougher than normal, causing some things to fall off her shelves. With a sigh, Lily got up and started repacking. One of the things she found was a tightly corked bottle with a bit of old parchment folded inside it. She smiled wryly.

"I'd forgotten about you," she told the bottle as she rolled it between her hands. "It was like all the trouble you caused just disappeared. But then again, you _are_ the product of the four Marauders combined, so I would guess that trouble is your middle name." She placed it at the back of the shelf and went back to her cartography.

The next few days went similarly. Lily would get up in the morning (sometimes early, sometimes not, depending on if she had any nightmares or not), walk the entire ship and chat with her crew members before waking up the men (her preferred method of waking up Potter being to douse him with water and then engage in a yelling match that would sufficiently wake up the others. Two birds; one stone.) After they had breakfast, she would usher them up on deck where she would show them some new technique. Some days they practiced knotting; she taught them how to read a map, made them clean the ship from top to bottom and then had them do laps to build up their endurance. She noticed that Remus was the slowest out of them all when it came to the running, and the poor boy could barely catch his breath. Lily had not taught them how to sword fight yet; she wanted them to not only be good fighters, but to also have the stamina to carry on. It made no sense being extremely skilled at sword fighting only to grow tired mere minutes after beginning.

"Captain! I think you might want to see this!" Jack yelled from the crow's nest just before he clambered down. He tossed Lily a spyglass, which she deftly caught as he pointed at something behind them.

Focusing, she could just barely make out the silhouette of another ship way off into the distance, causing her to frown.

"What do we do?" he asked anxiously.

Lily looked back at the ship, which was hardly even visible to the naked eye and said, "Nothing. Just keep going."

"But Captain," he protested. "This can't be a coincidence; not many likely to venture in these parts."

"Be that as it may," she said, pasting a smile on her face. "We don't do anything. They're still much too far to do anything to us. Go back up there and keep watch." She handed him back the spyglass.

After a moment's hesitation, Jack nodded and scaled the riggings, resuming his perch in the little wooden basket and leaving Lily with a million thoughts swirling in her mind. She glanced over her shoulder again before furrowing her brow.

"Are we going to be attacked?" a new voice said, jolting her out of her reverie.

She spun around to see none other than Sirius Black standing before her with a faint expression of worry marring his otherwise handsome features. Out of the three of them, Sirius had been the most receptive to being on the ship. Remus was as well, but he rarely displayed the enthusiasm that Sirius did. Again, Lily wondered why, and made a mental note to ask him about it later. As for James … well, saying that he and the Captain had some disagreements would be an understatement. They fought over everything.

"I don't know," she confessed. "They might be a passing ship, but in this area that's a bit worrisome. However, they're far away and hopefully will be gone soon."

Sirius nodded. "Don't you … don't you think that you should teach us how to defend ourselves?"

Lily shot him a sharp look. "I need more than a day to turn you lot into decent fighters. If I try anything now, you'll probably have a greater chance of killing yourselves than the enemy."

"But why didn't you teach us before?" he pressed.

"Because you might've killed me in my sleep," she stated, in a matter of fact manner.

"No, we wouldn't," replied Sirius, genuinely sounding shocked.

Lily scoffed. "Potter might. He'd do anything to get off this bleeding ship."

"That's not true -" he began.

"He hates me, Black," she said wryly, glancing at him once more before turning to the sea. He was quiet for a while and when Lily looked behind her again, he was gone.

She kept an eye out for the rest of the day, watching to see if the other ship had gotten any closer to them. Lily would assume that, at this time, they did not know that they had been spotted, and she hoped that that would give her crew a better chance if it did come to a fight.

By the time night was falling, however, it appeared that the ship following them was no longer a coincidence.

With a sigh, she called all the crew members on deck and told them of the situation.

"Prepare to fight," she said. "Gid, I want you at the wheel when the time comes. Jack, you're one of the better fighters. I'll need to switch you with someone …" The Captain continued giving orders and a good few minutes had passed before she allowed them to go.

"What about us?" someone said, just as she turned her back.

Lily glanced and saw the three men standing there and sighed. "Go back to your room and do not come out, no matter what. Right now, you're a liability; not an asset."

She left no room for argument, having stalked off in the direction of her cabin the moment the last word left her lips.

Lily knew that she ought to be sleeping, or, at the very least, lying down to get some sort of rest, but instead, here she was, back pouring over her maps while spinning the key in her hands again. There was a low chance of any attack happening right now; they were far behind them and the wind was not at its strongest, but Lily was still too wired for sleep. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she thought that after nearly five years of being on a ship, she would never be calm before heading in to a fight.

As she predicted, they were not attacked during the night and most of the crew had slept soundly, waiting impatiently for the first cannon to sound. The ship was no longer a blurry smudge on the horizon, but instead very visible behind them and unfortunately out of their firing range.

"They've gotten onto our wind," Fabian called.

"Shit," Lily cursed. From the wheel, she could hear Gideon echo her sentiments. Finding their wind meant that it was only a matter of time before the caught up to The Phoenix. The Captain looked up at the man stationed in the crow's nest.

"They've got no flag, Cap'n," he yelled down at her, causing her to swear once more as she began pacing.

"Turn her around," Lily said abruptly, as an idea struck her.

Gideon looked at her, wide-eyed. "What?"

"Turn her around," she repeated firmly. "They are starting to get on my nerves. Everyone prepare for attack!"

Crew members scurried around, some unsheathing their swords while some retired below deck to prep the cannons. Lily gave a quick glance to make sure that Sirius and the other two were not on deck, but safely tucked away several floors under, not in any obvious danger.

"Fire!" she yelled, and the first round of cannons sounded as the air quickly became filled with the scent of gun powder. None hit the other ship, but it did raise a fair deal of water. The two ships continued sending cannonballs at each other until they were close enough.

The ship rocked beneath her feet and Lily gritted her teeth, finally pulling out her sword.

"Prepare to board!"

Several planks of wood were quickly secured and Lily led her men into the battle.

The other crew, though they outnumbered hers three to one, were obviously inexperienced. Of course, there were a few experienced, older pirates who had most likely been the ones to orchestrate this attack, but Lily was confident that her men could have easily handled them.

She had tied up her hair so that instead of flowing freely in a tangle of curls, it was tightly bounded to her head. She moved in a blur, hardly giving her opponent time to recover before disarming them. Despite her ruthless reputation, she did not kill that many people, mainly because every time she succeeded in disarming one, four descended upon her. She managed beautifully, and could say in all honesty that even though she wore nothing to disguise it; many did not notice that she was a woman. The ones that did, well, she made sure to quickly dispose of them.

Right then, Lily was battling with a man that was at least three times her size. He was definitely stronger than her and had been in many fights if the numerous amounts of scars that covered his body were anything to go by. But Lily was faster than he was. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw that a few of them had broken away and were running across to her ship where they slipped downstairs. With a jolt, she remembered that Remus and they were down there, unable to defend themselves.

She redoubled her efforts to escape that man's clutches, but it proved difficult.

"The Dark Lord sends his regards, dearie," the man wheezed a laugh as he swiped at her head.

Lily ducked and she felt her blood run cold at the name. This slip in concentration was exactly what he was waiting for, as he struck out at her again. She jumped back, but not fast enough as the sword cut through the skin of her right arm. Lily bit her lip to keep from crying out and feinted to the side to avoid another incident. Luckily for her, that was not her sword arm so she was still able to fend for herself. She kicked out and caused the man to trip and, despite the blood trickling down the length of her arm, brought the sword down with all her might, effectively cutting him off.

"Tell the Dark Lord that the Red Headed Horror says hi," she snarled coldly at his lifeless body before breaking out in a run to get back over to her ship.

* * *

James was not sure how long the battle went on for, but for him it felt like an eternity.

The Phoenix was silent, the fight having taken place on the other ship, but for once, he might have welcomed the noise of the rowdy pirates. At least then he would know what was going on.

All of a sudden, he heard the muffled thump of footsteps on the top deck. It sounded like it was only a few men had returned - probably four at most. He could hear them stomping down the steps and yelling amongst themselves. He did not recognise their voices and, according to Remus and Sirius' expression, neither did they.

"Do you -" Remus began.

"No," said James.

"What about L -" he pressed.

"I don't know," James replied swiftly.

The three men stayed silent as they listened to doors opening and slamming shut as the men cursed and jeered. Finally, they reached their room and flung open the door. There were three men, all looking rather young, with tattoos and, what James was most focused on, swords.

At first, neither party said anything and simply stared at the other until the pirates yelled and attacked.

Sirius reacted the fastest, hitting the one nearest to him with the heavy tray that usually had the water jug on it. He dazedly stumbled backwards before bumping into the wall and slipping down. James threw a punch to the other one while Remus dodged the last one, who had swung his sword out towards him, missing his neck by inches. James managed to punch his arm, but it seemed to make the pirate want to kill him even more than it injured him. Sirius was helping Remus with the other, who looked as though his approach was to swipe at everything that moved.

They did not get hurt, but they were not making any progress either. James could easily see that Remus was tiring, his movements becoming sloppy and leaving room for error. The pirate managed to just nick his collarbone - a relatively shallow graze - when Lily burst into the room.

Her hair was coming undone and one of her shirt sleeves was stained red, causing James' stomach to roll uncomfortably as he thought of what happened to her arm. His distraction almost caused him to get beheaded. With a yelp, he kicked the man in the shin, sending him to the floor.

Lily had taken over from Sirius and Remus and was now battling the pirate. It was fairly easy for her, having him disarmed and knocking him out by hitting him with the butt of her sword in a matter of seconds, sending him crumpling to the floor. By now, the collar of Remus' shirt was stained red with blood and he looked sickly pale.

She had moved on to her next victim, sending him sprawling to the floor, bleeding slightly within seconds as well. James watched her strong and concise movements with awe. If this was how she moved with an arm injury, then he could only imagine how she would be at her full peak. A definite force to be reckoned with.

Lily stood in the middle of the room, heaving slightly as she took in the scene. Three unconscious bodies, and three unscathed but frightened men.

"You're bleeding," she said, noticing the blood that bordered Remus' neckline. She ripped piece of her already torn shirt and wadded it up for him, wiping away the blood. She frowned when she realised that it was not stopping.

"What - oh," she said, finally understanding. Lily looked up in to his clear grey eyes and spoke softly. "You're a bleeder."

He nodded hesitantly.

"Well that certainly explains a lot." Lily looked around for a moment before her eyes finally landed on the bottle of rum and the water jug. She poured out some water and dipped the cloth in it to clean the cut before wiping it through with the alcohol, ignoring his muffled cries of pain.

"Keep that pressed down there for the next hour," she ordered him.

"Thank you," he told her, sincerely.

"It's nothing," Lily shrugged. "I can't have you bleeding to death, now can I?"

"And what about you, Miss Evans?" asked Remus, looking at her arm. "Who's going to take of you so that you don't bleed to death?"

Lily looked down at her arm as if just noticing it. "I'll live," she smiled. "It's just a scratch."

"I'm sorry, did you just say 'just a scratch,'?" asked James, having realised that he was staring at her.

Her eyes lost the warmth they had once possessed when she was tending to Remus. "I'm fine," she said stiffly.

"Are you sure? It looks... severe," said James. Even he was surprised by the worry in his voice.

Lily regarded him oddly. "I'm fine," she said once more, though not as frostily as the previous, before turning on her heel and walking out. Just before she left she said, "I'll have someone come by and get rid of them." She gestured to the three bodies. James had almost forgotten about them while he was observing her.

"You should get some sleep; I'll bring you something to eat later," she gently told Remus. With those last words, she walked out, shutting the door softly behind her.

* * *

**_Yes, Snape will be in this story, no we won't be seeing him for quite some time. I'll be putting a little twist on the tale of the Marauders as well, and so more of Lily's history might pop up sooner rather than later. Also, the term 'bleeder' is just local slang for someone who's haemophiliac (i.e. their blood doesn't clot properly so little scrapes and cuts can actually cause them to bleed to death.) We use it where I'm from, so I'm not 100% sure if it's British, but if you could tell me, that'll be brill._**

**_Until next time :)_**


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